Cool New Stuff
Two exciting new contest ships, a better way of burnishing your balsa and what all the cool kids will soon be wearing.
Falcon F5K
Revamped construction methods means this popular, high-performance design is now available at a more reasonable price.
Currently most state-of-the-art F5K gliders feature carbon construction. This is because they are basically revamped designs based on their motorless predecessors. It dictates great performance, just like the original DLGs, but with a steep price tag to go with it.
However, the Flyinger team (formerly HighQuality) and FlightPoint are collaborating on a fresh approach to drop the price of a moulded F5K glider: the well-known Falcon now has a fibreglass layup which not only decreases the price but also refreshes the old designs with its crisp white base color.
Notably, this more economical construction does not come with a significant weight penalty — the AUW (all up weight) of a complete glider is around 250g and with a built-in ballast tube pilots can take it to over 300g.
There are also numerous convenience features: the airframe can quickly be disassembled, including the vertical fin, so it can be packed in a compact case for transportation and storage. It utilises a proven method of splitting the wing at the centerline, with only a simple and foolproof strip of tape to secure the two halves for flight.
The fuselage is available in colour-keyed white paint over a standard Falcon fuse, constructed with carbon and fibreglass to enable your receiver antennas to remain fully internal. For those looking to squeeze the last bit of performance out of the Falcon F5K a bare-carbon, unpainted fuse is also available. The fibreglass layup of the tail surfaces are shown painted blue but there a variety of other colours to personalise the glider while also helping with orientation while the glider spirals away in a thermal.
So now there is another option for F5K glider pilots to join the movement and start competition flying at a fair price. It is the great ‘old’ Falcon with Synergy2-family airfoil, outstanding production quality and great handling. But at a lower price tag. Complete information available directly from FlightPoint.
Stick Sanders
Builders of all stripes will find these a handy and durable addition to their shops.
When shaping either traditional wood construction or the latest composite layup, there can never be too many shapes and sizes of sanding blocks. Lee Valley Tools has this great option available at a very reasonable price.
What we like particularly is the replaceable belt usually found in power tools has been scaled down and adapted to this application. So forget forever the fiddly cutting of strips of sandpaper — that blunts your X-acto! — and the mess of gluing them to spruce sticks to get that long, narrow sander you need.
The sanding belts themselves are durable, cloth-backed units. They can be rotated or replaced by simply pushing the spring tip. Available in both 1/4" x 6 1/2" and 1/2" x 8" models with six belts in a variety of grits. You’ll likely want both! Complete information available directly from Lee Valley Tools.
TT-Eclipse
Composite RC Gliders makes an impressive debut in the F5J class with this 3.8m supership.
With the TT-Eclipse, this highly-regarded German firm makes its debut in the F5J competition class with this most recent addition to their Thermal Taker series. With a wingspan of 3.8m and an area of 88dm², it’s obvious the name is inspired by the TT-Eclipse’s ability to cast a very big shadow.
Available in Standard, Full Build (glider and electro), Ready-to-Fly and Ready-to-Fly Premium kit configurations, there are a range of price points to bring the TT-Eclipse within reach for a broad audience in this class. All kits feature premium components from name-brand suppliers.
Similar to the TT-Aurora DLG (discus launch glider), this model also features beautifully shaped visible carbon paired with a filigree and simple design. As with all in the Thermal Taker series the manufacturing quality and surface finish is no-expense-spared premium quality.
In contrast to the TT-Echoes, which has very dynamic cross-country flight characteristics, the TT-Eclipse is optimised for the lowest possible sink rate. That said, by de-cambering the flaps and ailerons minimally the TT-Eclipse will pick up speed to cover ground and get out of sink at a prodigious rate. Once it reaches the lift again, lightly cambered flaps and ailerons optimise the rate of climb.
If you’re contemplating a serious run at F5J, the TT-Eclipse is well worth your attention. Complete information available directly from Composite RC Gliders.
RC Soaring Is Not A Crime
It took skateboarding from outlaw to Olympic sport, so why not RC soaring?
The In The Air editorial in this issue is subtitled The trouble with Canada, and in it The Ed comments on the dramatic changes in the regulatory landscape for RC soaring. Things are sure not what they used to be. Hence the RC Soaring Is Not a Crime t-shirt.
Given the way things are going up in the Frozen North — and sadly where things may be headed in other parts of the world — we may all need to look down and remind ourselves of this fact every once in a while. It’s also a great way to cheekily comment on all these draconian regulations coming down the pipe. Depending on where you think things are going, you can order in either optimistic white or pessimistic black. Group (grumpy mob?) discounts available.
Complete information available directly from The RCSD Shop.
The Fine Print All product descriptions in Cool New Stuff are prepared in collaboration with the product’s manufacturer and/or distributor which is/are entirely responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their product’s descriptive text and images contained herein. Note also the New in Cool New Stuff can sometimes mean ‘new to us’ — the French nouvelle as opposed to neuf.
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